Undefeated Buckeyes proud of their accomplishment

COLUMBUS, Ohio — No one could have blamed at least a few of the 19 seniors on Ohio State's football team if they had bolted for somewhere else.

The NCAA decreed last December the Buckeyes couldn't play in a bowl or even in their own conference championship game after the 2012 season. The NCAA also said players were free to transfer without the usual penalty of having to sit out a year.

All of those seniors stayed, and they were rewarded Saturday with an improbable 12-0 season.

"The most selfless group I've ever been around," coach Urban Meyer said after Saturday's 26-21 victory against archrival Michigan.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, now it's as if they're all dressed up with no place to go. While other, lesser teams prepare for postseason trips, they are on the outside looking in.

What bothers them the most is that no one will ever know what might have been.

"We've known for a while that we're not going to be able to prove at the end of the season how good we are," wide receiver/tight end Jake Stoneburner said. "If we are the last (unbeaten) team, I certainly think we deserve to be in the top two if not No. 1. But that's not for us to decide."

Their last victory was much like many of the others. In only a handful of games did Ohio State have the victory well in hand in the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes ended up winning six games by seven or fewer points, including two in overtime.

"The biggest thing is we refused to lose," safety C.J. Barnett said. "There's a bunch of times we were down, had to go to overtime and stuff like that. We found a way to win."

A lot of teams might have buckled under all the pressure. The Buckeyes relied on a number of bit players to take starring roles.

"I haven't been doing this a whole long time but I can't remember a greater 'team' season — somebody else (making a big play) every time. Some other guy," said co-defensive coordinator Luke Fickell, the interim head coach during the tumultuous 6-7 season in 2011. "This team is unbelievable how they feed off each other."

Meyer gave all the credit to the seniors. Some of them deflected it back to him.

"I want to make sure they're properly recognized as one of the great groups of seniors in the history of this program — however we're going to do that," the first-year Buckeyes coach said.